industry trends

Did you ace our industry quiz? Enhance your knowledge even more with our comprehensive timeline of industry trends and innovations—from rebate plans to stay-to-play to custom uniforms—and find out how they came to fruition. (Please note: this is a living document! We are continually updating and adding more information. If you would like to add updates to our timeline, please email us at info@thecheerprofessional.com).

2008 — JAM Brands and NLCC (Epic Brands and Spirit Brands) collaborate to rebrand and reimagine Final Destination as The U.S. Finals

2009 — UCA/UDA hold the first International All Levels Championship

2010 — Xtreme Spirit holds the first Elite International Championship series, to which teams earn bids throughout the season at partner brand events

2013 — US Spirit debuts THE ONE Cheer & Dance Finals

2013 — GSSA signs onto the U.S. Finals team to produce its West Coast event

2013 — Varsity debuts The Summit, an all-levels national championship, to replace the International All Levels Virtual Championship

2014 — Powered by Twisted Cheer & Dance, the “aerial sporting event” All Star Games has its inaugural event in Las Vegas with multi-brand partnerships with Nfinity, GK Elite, COP Brands (Mexico), New Zealand Cheer Union and the All Star Games Federation.

2014 — Nfinity and Aloha Spirit Productions launch The Champions League with accompanying feature film debut

2012 — Spirit Innovations announces that it will now operate under Varsity Spirit Fashion

2013 — Xtreme Spirit acquires Wisconsin Spirit

New on the Scene

2010 — Twisted Spirit expands its focus beyond choreography to start offering events, starting with the Twister Treat event in New Zealand and Makin’ Noise for Toyz in Bloomington, followed by the launch of custom “3D events” (with live performances by Kickfull band) in 2012, and Unplugged (smaller-scale events) in 2013

With all of the developments in our ever-evolving industry, it can be hard to keep up. For handy reference, we’ve compiled a thorough timeline of how some of today’s hottest trends and innovations came about (and the companies that pioneered them). But before you check it out, take our quiz below to find out how much you know—then check out the answers below!

1. Which of these companies debuted its custom uniform line back in 1999?

a) Ozone

b) Teamleader

c) Rebel Athletic

d) Chasse’

2. What year did Varsity introduce its Varsity Family Plan?

a) 1998

b) 2001

c) 2006

d) 2009

3. Which of these companies was not among those who originally launched US Finals?

a) Varsity

b) Spirit Brands

c) The JAM Brands

d) Epic Brands

4. Which of these invitation-only events made a splash in 2014 with an accompanying feature film?

a) The Revolution

b) The Majors

c) All-Star Games

d) Champions League

5. In 2013, Epic Brands debuted three new events. Which of these was not one of them?

a) The Summit

b) The Reveal

c) The Debut

d) Future 5

6. What’s the name of Spirit Celebration’s royalty-themed end of year event?

a) Cheer Kingdom

b) Cheerlebrity

c) Crown Jubilee

d) Reach The Throne

7. Several events adopted stay-to-play policies in select cities in 2014. Which of these was not one of them?

a) Cheersport

b) American Cheer Power

c) JAMFest Cheer Super Nationals

d) Coastal Battle at the Capitol

8. What was The Summit called in its previous iteration?

a) International All Levels Championship

b) The Road to Worlds

c) Battle of All Levels

d) All Levels Challenge

9. Which two companies combined to form EPIC Brands?

a) COA and Coastal

b) Americheer and Great Lakes Cheer Championships

c) ACDA and Spirit Unlimited

d) Xtreme Spirit and Twisted Spirit

10. What current publishing company were the original founders of Cheer Biz News?

a) American Cheerleader

b) The Cheer Leader

c) Inside Cheerleading

d) CheerProfessional

Answers:

1.) B: Teamleader debuted its custom uniform line in 1999.
2.) C: Varsity introduced its Family Plan in 2006.
3.) A: The event producers that originally launched U.S. Finals were Spirit Brands, JAM Brands and Epic Brands.
4.) D: The invitation-only Champions League event debuted in 2014 with an accompanying feature film.
5.) A: Epic Brands’ three new events in 2013 were The Reveal, The Debut and Future 5.
6.) C: Spirit Celebration’s royalty-themed end of year event is Crown Jubilee.
7.) B: American Cheer Power adopted its stay-to-play policies before 2014.
8.) A: The Summit was formerly called International All Levels Championship.
9.) C: ACDA and Spirit Unlimited combined to form Epic Brands.
10.) D: The publishers of CheerProfessional were the original founders of Cheer Biz News.